In memoriam

Jean Rozanski, mother of Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski, died May 19 in Baltimore. She was 84 years old. Mrs. Rozanski was preceded in death by her husband, Alfred Rozanski, who died in December. They were married for 64 years. Alfred and Jean instilled in Archbishop Rozanski and his brothers a strong devotion to the Lord and His Church. Mrs. Rozanski, a frequent volunteer at her parish, grew up in a Pennsylvania coal-mining town before moving to Baltimore at age 14. Survivors include her sons, Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski, Kenneth Rozanski and Albert Rozanski; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. A funeral Mass was celebrated May 25 at Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Baltimore.

New leader at Today and Tomorrow

The board of directors of the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation announced Julie Scott Soffner as the new executive director of the organization, effective May 17. A St. Louis native and St. Thomas Aquinas High School graduate, Soffner had a 32-year career at Enterprise Holdings, where she has held various leadership roles. She also is former executive director and current board chairman of KEEN St. Louis, a national nonprofit dedicated to empowering youth with special needs. “I couldn’t be more excited to channel the gifts and talents acquired from my years at Enterprise into God’s work, in service of others,” said Soffner, a St. Genevieve du Bois parishioner who has longtime ties to St. Monica Parish. “TTEF fulfills my wish and vocation to support educational equity for St. Louis children.” She succeeds Sharon Gerken, who will join Incarnate Word Academy as president on July 1. The Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation was founded in 1991 and has grown into the largest elementary school scholarship organization in the state and the fourth largest of its kind in the United States, raising more than $175 million from local and national funding sources to provide need-based tuition assistance scholarships, enabling thousands of St. Louis children to attend the private or parochial elementary school of their choice. For more information, visit ttef-stl.org.

Rural Parish Clinic new dental site

The Rural Parish Clinic will open a new mobile dental clinic site in the Archdiocese of St. Louis on June 3 at St. Joachim Parish in Old Mines. The new clinic — a collaborative initiative with the parishes of Washington County — will open to patients on Thursday, June 3, and is scheduled to operate June 3-5 and June 8-12. This is the second dental clinic location for the Rural Parish Clinic; the first location opened at Father Dempsey’s Charities in St. Louis in January 2021, marking the Rural Parish Clinic’s first expansion into urban St. Louis. Additional volunteers with experience in the dental field are needed. For more information, contact Jeanine Jung at (314) 225-4034. For more information on the Rural Parish Clinic, see archstl.org/rpc.

Medicaid expansion lawsuit

Three Missouri citizens filed a lawsuit in Cole County asserting their right to Medicaid benefits following the state legislature’s decision not to provide funding for new enrollees. Missouri voters approved expansion of the program during the August 2020 election, and enrollees would otherwise have been eligible to apply for benefits as early as July 1, 2021. The lawsuit seeks an order compelling the state to accept their applications and to reimburse hospitals and physicians for medical services provided to them as new enrollees just as it does for other Medicaid enrollees. It is not clear when the court will rule on the lawsuit. The Missouri Catholic Conference supported expanding eligibility for the health care program because of the unmet healthcare needs of the working poor and the importance of Medicaid for the delivery of healthcare in Missouri.

Natural Family Planning

Introductory classes in Natural Family Planning are held at 14 locations in the Archdiocese of St. Louis each month. Intro sessions are for engaged couples undergoing marriage preparation or married couples wanting a natural way to plan their families or who are having difficulty conceiving. For more information, visit stlouisnfp.org or to schedule an appointment, see bit.ly/NFPintro.

Grant for DB library

Bishop DuBourg High School was one of 205 schools from 43 states to receive a $5,000 grant through the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries. The grant will support the DuBourg Library and Media Center. The foundation awarded more than $1 million in library grants this year. Confluence City Academy in St. Louis was the only other school in Missouri to receive a grant. Many of the libraries will use the funds to update their collection, offer more dual-language titles, and provide books focused on diversity and inclusivity. “There are many students who don’t have books at home, so having access to a library at school is essential,” Laura Bush said. “With the grants, school libraries across the nation can restock and update their collections providing opportunities for students for years to come.” The former First Lady also revealed her 2021 summer reading list, which includes recommendations for young readers through middle schoolers. Selections highlight books focused on diversity, inclusion, and kindness; and the list features a title by the late Beverly Cleary. Visit www.bit.ly/34jXH2g to learn more.

Golf titles

De Smet Jesuit High School and Chaminade College Prep won state golf titles earlier this month. De Smet won the Class 4 title, with St. John Vianney High School finishing second. Chaminade won in Class 5. De Smet was led by Blake Skornia who finished fourth with rounds of 75 and 74. De Smet’s Colby Sauer was fifth and Drew Hollman was 12th. Colin Aubuchon of St. Dominic finished seventh. Vianney’s Cole Wiese was ninth and Gabe Ducey tied for 12th. Chaminade was led by John Guerra and Ryan Walsh who tied for 16th and John (Bubba) Chapman who finished 21st.

Humanae Vitae Mass

The annual Love and Life Mass marking the anniversary of “Humanae Vitae,” Pope Paul VI’s encyclical on family love and the sanctity of life, will be celebrated Saturday, July 17, at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. Auxiliary Bishop Mark S. Rivituso will celebrate Mass at 5 p.m. A livestream of the Mass also will be available at cathedralstl.org. Natural family Planning Awareness Week also will be celebrated July 25-31. Follow the archdiocesan Office of Natural Family Planning Facebook page (@stlnfp) for daily posts, information and interviews.

Diaper distribution set

Free diapers and wipes from Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service will be distributed in June via a drive-through service in Lincoln and Warren counties. There are no income requirements, but families must pre-register for the second annual Diaper Drive Thru. “Many of our families with young children are struggling to provide the most basic needs for their families. Diapers and wipes are expensive for our families, and we wanted to ease some of their burden,” said Pam Struckhoff, executive director at Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service. The Diaper Drive Thru will be held in Lincoln County on June 12, and families can pre-register by calling Kim at (636) 699-8762. The event will be held in Warren County on June 19, and families can pre-register by calling Michelle at a(636) 288-8229. The drive-thru is open to the first 100 families in each county to sign up by June 11. Partners include the Early Childhood Taskforce, Lincoln County Health Department and Mercy, as well as the Warren County Health Department and Bank of Old Monroe. Donations of diapers and wipes are always needed to support fragile families in St. Charles, Lincoln and Warren counties. Donations can be dropped off at the Care Service in St. Charles located at 4116 McClay Road in St. Charles. Donations are also accepted online at www.jacares.org/how-to-help.